Documentary about MS and Nordic Skiing Needs Supporters

10/29/2013

A Norwegian-American film director and a professor of neurology who teamed up to create a documentary called “Multiple Sclerosis, the Vikings and Nordic Skiing” have created an online fundraising drive to support the film’s production. The goal of this documentary, they say, is to inspire people with MS to live a healthy, active lifestyle and demonstrate the benefits of exercise, no matter what the level of disability.

Kickstarter, which can be found at www.kickstarter.com, is a new way to fund creative projects. Funding on Kickstarter is all-or-nothing — projects must reach their funding goals to receive any money. This project will only be funded if at least $20,000 is pledged by Wednesday Nov 6, 11:00 pm EST. As of this writing, pledges total just over $8,000.

“We have chosen three people with MS in both theU.S.andNorwayto tell their personal stories and how cross country skiing (Nordic skiing) has helped them. We follow them on skis as they train and participate in a marathon ski race and hear their reflections on this challenge and their hopes for the future,” says Ian Duncan, Ph.D., the film’s medical/scientific advisor and a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has worked for over 25 years in MS research and his research is focused in brain repair in people with chronic MS. He is an international expert in this area and has received many awards for his work.

Embedded within the documentary is the medical story of MS and what the future holds for new and novel therapies, as told by experts from around the world. Viewers will hear of the connection of MS to the Vikings and their migration throughout Europe and theNew World, spreading their genes and predisposition to developing MS. The documentary will be shown on certain public television stations in theUSandNorway. There is also a plan to have it more widely available and hopefully to all those with MS who wish to view it.

Steinar Hybertsen is a Norwegian-American who lives inColoradoand who has been making documentaries for more than 10 years. His specialty is in Norwegian-American history including documentaries on Ibsen, the Marshall Plan, the Kaare Ness Story, and others.

To watch a trailer of the documentary, learn more, or make a donation (deadline is Nov. 6th) go to http://kck.st/H7enxv. With a pledge of $250 or more, you will be invited to join everyone involved with the film for a private film screening at the American Birkebeiner nearHayward, Wisc., plus you’ll receive an HD 1080p digital download of the film.

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